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26 Jan 2004 : Column 39W—continued
Recruitment Advertising
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since the Department's creation. [145808]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002. The Department uses the most appropriate publication for recruitment advertising, be it national, regional, trade magazine or website, depending on the nature of the vacancy.
The following are details of the costs incurred by DfT (Central) for recruitment advertising.
- 2002–03: £241,868.87
- 2003–04 to date: £349,117.32.
This does not include the Department's Agencies and NDPBs as they have responsibility for their own recruitment below the Senior Civil Service.
Royal Train
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the royal train. [149928]
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Mr. McNulty: Last year, the royal household completed a review on the future of the royal train. The review concluded that the royal train should continue to be used as an integral part of royal travel but that the household and the Department should actively monitor costs to ensure that it is operated and maintained in the most cost effective manner.
Security Passes
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) departmental agencies in the last 12 months. [147979]
Mr. McNulty: The number of permanent passes in the Department for Transport reported in the last 12 months as lost totals 71. A further two were reported as stolen. In the same period 147 Agency passes were lost and two stolen. A large number of the Department's access control systems are electronic and have the facility to invalidate a pass as soon as it is reported to have been lost. In areas where access is given on visual inspection of a pass, any increased threat that results from the loss of such a pass is assessed and appropriate action is taken.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in the last 12 months. [150405]
Mr. McNulty: The number of permanent passes in the Department for Transport reported in the last 12 months as lost totals 71. A further two were reported as stolen. A large number of the Department's access control systems are electronic and have the facility to invalidate a pass as soon as it is reported to have been lost. In areas where access is given on visual inspection of a pass any increased threat that results from the loss of such a pass is assessed and appropriate action is taken.
Ships (Dangerous Cargoes)
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions since 1975 when ships have lost dangerous cargoes overboard in (a) United Kingdom waters, (b) the English Channel and (c) the North Sea; what cargo was lost in each case; and what was subsequently recovered. [148594]
Mr. Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency uses data provided by the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS) and information is not available in the form requested. However, Coastguard experience suggests that there are around five or six such incidents per year in UK waters. In 2001, for example, the Agency is aware of five incidents in UK waters. There were none in the English Channel and four in the North Sea. In 2002, the Agency is aware of five incidents in UK waters, including one in the English Channel and three in the North Sea.
The majority of the incidents in 2001 and 2002 involved chemical drums/containers washed up on beaches. In cases such as this, he local authority and/or Fire Brigade have arranged for safe disposal.
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Station Improvements
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Strategic Rail Authority will set new targets to achieve its earlier target of delivering £370 million improvements to 1,000 stations by 2004. [149711]
Mr. McNulty: The current programme for providing new facilities under the Modern Facilities at Stations Scheme (MFAS) covers 68 stations. Work on these is scheduled for completion by 31 March 2005. Any extension of the scheme will depend on the availability of future funding following the Government's Spending Review later this year.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997. [148624]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport was established following machinery of Government changes in May 2002. The first complete year for which we have data on staff sick absence rates for staff in the centre of the Department for Transport is January to December 2003. During this period, the number of people taking sick leave was as follows:
| Days | Number |
|---|---|
| (a) Four to seven | 292 |
| (b) Eight to 21 | 137 |
| (c) 22 to 42 | 37 |
| (d) 43 to 72 | 17 |
| (e) 73 to 140 | 16 |
| (f) 141 to 196 | 6 |
The Department is committed to managing sick absence effectively.
US Security (Passenger Screening)
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what liaison his Department has had with the United States Department of Homeland Security over the Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System, Version 2 (CAPPS-11). [149605]
Mr. McNulty: The Department liaises closely with United States authorities on aviation security measures, and is aware in that context of the development of the CAPPS2 system.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Sports Activities (Children)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average time spent on all sports by those aged between six and 16 years was in terms of hours per week in each year since 1997.[149866]
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Mr. Caborn: The information requested is not collected in this format. Taking into account time spent per week on curriculum PE, outside lessons in term time and during the previous summer holidays, the results of Sport England's Young People and Sport National Surveys suggested that, on average, young people spent eight hours 23 minutes a week on sport and physical activity in 1999 and that this had decreased to eight hours 12 minutes a week by 2002. Data are now being collected for the first time—for publication in April—on the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum.
Cinema
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's policy is on the recognition of cinema as a cultural and regenerative opportunity in unitary development plans. [149956]
Estelle Morris: The UK Film Council's network of Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) work with key local authorities to position film within cultural plans, and to emphasise the value of cinema as a cultural and regenerative opportunity in unitary development plans.
A number of RSAs are also developing, with local authorities, proposals around cinema exhibition in rural and market towns. This research will emphasise the effects which a working cinema can have on a range of social, cultural and economic issues. The UK Film Council, in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) and the RSAs, is currently carrying out research into the social and economic impact of town centre cinemas which is expected to back up the work of RSAs with local authorities.
Civil Servants
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997. [150255]
Mr. Caborn: The following table shows the numbers of individual civil servants employed by DCMS and the Royal Parks Agency.
(6) Data for January 1997 are not available.
26 Jan 2004 : Column 43W
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much space, expressed in square metres, the Department occupies for the offices of civil servants in (a) central London and (b) Greater London. [150279]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS occupies five buildings/part buildings in central London. The space in occupation amounts to 10,557.94 square metres net usable area. There are no buildings occupied in the Greater London Area.
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